The Pittsburgh Steelers will participate in the NFL’s first regular-season game in Ireland when they play the Minnesota Vikings at Croke Park, but it sounds like it won’t be the last. Speaking to the media during an event in Dublin ahead of Sunday’s game, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said he has “no doubt” that the league will be back in the country.
“We never like to say we’re coming back until we finish the first one, so let’s talk on Monday. But I have no doubt this is gonna be incredibly successful. I also have no doubt we’ll be back,” Goodell said via the NFL UK & Ireland YouTube channel.
While Goodell didn’t offer an all-out guarantee, it sounds as if the NFL plans to play more games in Ireland. Steelers owner Art Rooney II, who was also on the stage with Goodell at the event, said yesterday that he thinks there will be more games in Dublin and hopes the Steelers are a part of them.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Steelers were part of the league’s plans to return to Ireland. The team has international marketing rights for the country and a rabid fanbase in Ireland and worldwide. Goodell said he thinks tomorrow’s game will be the highest-rated 9:30 international game in the league’s history. The Steelers also played in the first game in Ireland, a 1997 preseason tilt against the Chicago Bears as part of the American Bowl.
Like the Jacksonville Jaguars have an annual game in London, the Steelers could push for a similar arrangement in Ireland with the league’s interest in returning. It’s good for the team’s marketing efforts, and with the NFL continually trying to make the league global, it can be a way for the Steelers to be a part of that.
Dublin has become a hub for college football, with the College Football Classic being a success each of the last two seasons. If Sunday’s game goes well, the NFL will make an effort to return. The only question at that point is when and whether the Steelers would be involved. Rooney wants it to happen, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Goodell made sure the Steelers got another game in the country.
